Power transmission



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M. A. HAYDEN INVENTOR MERRILL A. HAYDEN f ATTORNEY POWER TRANSMISSION Filed Dec. so, 19:59

May 11, 1943.

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INVENTOR MERRILL A. HAYDEN ATTORNEY Patented May 11, 1943 POWER TRANSMISSION Merrill- A. Hayden, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Vickers Incorporated, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application December 30, 1939, Serial No. 311,844

3 Claims.

This invention relates to power transmissions and more particularly to those of the type comprising two or more fluid pressure energy translating devices, one of which may function as a pump and another as a fluid motor.

The invention is particularly concerned with a power transmission system for actuating the movable slide of a machine tool. Hydraulic transmissions are extensively used for this purpose, and there are available on the market standard control panel assemblies which provide the necessary valving and control equipment for producing automatically certain cycles of tool slide movement among them being a cycle comprising a rapid traverse movement forward, a coarse feed movement forward, a fine feed movement forward, and a rapid return with a stop at the end of the return movement. There is occasionally need for a power transmission system with control means for providing a different cycle of slide movement which includes both rapid traverse and feed movements in the return direction as well as in the forward direction.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a power transmission system utilizing a standard control panel assembly of the type above described and providing a cycle of motor movements which includes both rapid traverse and feed movements in both directions.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a power transmission system embodying a preferred form of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic chart of the circuit embodied in Figure 1 showing the conditions of flow through the various'valves during diiferent stages of operation.

There is illustrated in Figure 1 a hydraulic 5 power transmission system comprising a pump I0 which maybe driven by a suitable prime mover such as an electric motor 12 and which has a suction conduit 14 for withdrawing oil from the tank l6; A delivery conduit l8 incorporates a conventional relief valve for bypassing oil to tank through a conduit 22 whenever a predetermined pressure is exceeded in the delivery conduit I8. The delivery conduit l8 also includes a spring-loaded, back-pressure valve 24 for maintaining a low degree of pressure in the conduit l8 ahead of the valve 24 which pressure is made available through a branch conduit 26 for pilot actuation of various valves later to be described.

The conduit I8 leads to the pressure inlet port 28 of a standard control panel 30 such as is widely used for providing cycles of rapid traverse forward, feed, and rapid return. The return port 32 of the panel 30 is connected by a conduit 34 with the tank conduit 22. The motor ports 36 and 38 of the panel 30 connect by conduits 40 and 42 with the pressure and tank ports 44 and 46-48 respectively of a pilot-operated, four-way, reverse valve 50. Motor ports 52 and 54 are connected by conduits 56 and 58 with the opposite ends of a table-operating cylinder 60 having a piston 62 reciprocably mounted therein. A rod 64 of piston 62 is connected to actuate a machine tool slide 66 as is well known in the art.

The conduit 40 has placed in series therein a pressure-operated sequence valve 68 which normally blocks flow through the conduit 40 in the direction from right to left in Figure 1 until a predetermined pressure in the right-hand portion of the conduit has been built up. The valve 68 also incorporates a check valve 10 open to free flow through conduit 40 from left to right.

A port 12 of the valve 68, which is always in communication with the right-hand portion of conduit 40 whether the valve 68 be open or closed,

connects by a conduit I4 with the pressure port P of a rotary four-way pilot valve 16. The tank port T of the latter connects to tank by a conduit 18, a branch serving also to drain seepage from thesequence valve 68. The motor ports I and 2 of the valve '16 are connected by conduits 82 and 84 with the right and lefthand operating chambers 86 and 88 of the pilot-operated valve 50.

The valve 16 has an operating fork consisting of two levers 90 and 92 which lie in diiferent planes parallel to the planeof the paper and are in the paths of travel of a pair of pivoted dogs 94 and 96 respectively. The latter are pivotally mounted on a plate 98 adjustably mounted on the slide 66. The dog 86 is arranged to pass under the lever 80 during leftward travel of; the slide 66 but to actuate the lever 90 counterciockwise during rightward travel of the slide at a point just before reaching the central position. shown in Figure 1. Likewise the dog 94 is arranged to pass under the lever 92 during rightward travel of the slide and to actuate the lever 92 clockwise during leftward movement just before reaching central position illustrated.

The panel 30 comprises a main valve bore I00 in am isieciprocabiy mounted a. main valve meager "I021 The bore I is provided with a series of annular ports I04, I06, I08, H0, H2, H4, and H6 of varying width and spacing as shown in the drawings while the plunger I02 is provided with piston heads II8, I and I22 adapted to selectively connect various of the ports together or block them from communication with one another. A passage I24 connects pom withrthgtank'pofture 'A passage I26 cohnctsport- I06"with *motor'port36': ---A passage I28 connects port I08 with pressure port *when either cam I16 or I18 contacts the roller 28. A passage I30 connects port IIO with motor port 38. A passage I32 connects to ,,a;;bra-nch passage I34 which in turn connects betw n two adjustable throttles I36 and I38walpassage iylfl connects port II4 with throttle I36; ii' passa'ge I42 connects port I I6 with the tank port 32.

of proper length to depress tharonemsr'ndm rapid traverse position to coarse feed position while a similar cam I14 may be arranged to depress the roller I68 from rapid traverse position to fine feed position. The cam arrangement shown is merely an example of one of the many arrangements that may be provided for operating the plunger I02 between various positions at various points in the travel of the slide 66. The"slide"j66 also carries'a pair of cams I16 and I18'adapted to contact a roller I80 carried by the stem of a three-way pilot valve I82. Thus -;I80 thep ilot valve is shifted to cut off its cylinder line I84 from the tank connection I86 and to connect the'cylinder line with a pressure connec- A hydrostatic valve generally pdesignated'za'sgxt I44 is provided in the panel 30 and has its in: coming port I46 connected by a branch-"conduit I48 with; the passage ,I30 and itsputgoing' p rt I50 connectedby 'pas age' I52 with the throttle I38. The valve I44 has its operating piston! subject tolpressureiin the,port I 50 .tending to delivery line I8 while the cylinder connection I84 leads to the left-hand end of cylinder I60.

' Tin-operation, starting with the parts in the positionof Figure l that is, the stop position I 'illustrated in Eigure z with the pump I0 operatclose the valve 'and,.subject; Ito. tanlr pressure transmitted froingport loithreunf branch conduit I'I56f retainers opea heyaive; A spring I58 biases the valve. .pistonf downwardlywith :8- light force. The whydrosta ticfiow,control yalve .144 serves to maintain a predetermined pressure 'fdrop between apointahead. of the throttles I88 a'ri'di 36, namely, the port I50, and apoint beyond the throttles, namely, the tank port. 32.,

The plunger I02 is adapted to selectively direct flow returning from the motoreither to tank; di-

rectly for rapid traverse of the slide or, through hydrostatic valve I44 and throttle-I38 only for coarse feed or through hydrostatic valve1 l,44 and .both throttles I38 and I36 for line feed. The

hydrostatic valve I44 by maintaining a constant pressure drop across ltheth'rottles permits the throttles to be manually adjusted to any desired opening and thereby maintainsthe rate of slide movement constant regardless ofivariations in resistance whichthe slide encounters.

The plunger n: is shiftable between' flve e o tions to accomplish these connections and also to provide a connection for rapid reverse fl ow through conduits 40 and ,42 and also to bypass the pump delivery directly. tov tank when-it is desired to stopthe motor. .Thesepositions are respectively designated rapid traverse, nne feed, coarse'feed, stop and rapidreturn';and' are arranged invth'atlorder of verticalmo'v ement of the p1ungerI02; i w g o The plunger I02 may be operated from anyone of three operating" means. one operatingrneans comprisesa cylinder I60 mounted" at the lower portion of, the panel and having a. piston -;I 62 reciprocabletherein. The piston] 62 is connected with the plunger I02, by a bell crankiarrange merit I64, whereby leftward. movement of the piston aifect's upward movement or the plunger I 02 and vice versapf ,l'Blun'gerfll 02 mfay .be also n anuallyb'y a'handlever IBG whi his rigidly secured to the pivot of theflbell c ank rangement I 64; A third operating means comprises a roller I68 provided on the upper end of plunger 102 and arrangedpjin the path for various camsfadjustably mounted on the s1ide"6 w en the cam ,1 10,jwhlcn*i nearanner b i e-r 5,, i W jlli he plunger- II) fromiits'rapid posi f. Fife, stop positio' A oam I'IZ beprovide operated ills withdrawnrfrom tank I6 ,through suc- ,,tion,conduit I4 and, delivered through conduit "I8, back-pressurevalve 24, port 28, and passage I28 to the port I08 ,of themain valve bore I08. Due to the po'sition of the spool I02, a free passage is established upwardly into port I 06 and thence toport I04 fromv which the oil returns to tank throughpassag'e I24, port 32 and conduits 34 and 22. The entire pump delivery is thus by-passed at no pressure and the slide 66 accordingly remains stationary. .In this and the following description the .righthand portion of Figure 2 shows the jflojw acutally occurring by solid arrows and shows pressure applied or exhausted by dotted. arrows.

when it-is desired to initiate a cycle of slide movements the operating handle I66 may, be shifted from) stop position v to rapid traverse position illustrated in the second column from theleftin Figure 2n Under these conditions the pump delivery is directed from port I08 to port I06 andthrough passage I26, port 38, and conduit 40 to the sequence valve 68. I Since there isa free passage for oil out the port 12 through conduit 14, ports P and 2 of valve 16, and conduit 84 to the operating chamber 88 of valve 50, the latter valve is first shifted before any significant pressure can, buildup in the righthand part of the conduit"; oon as the valve 50 is completely shifted, no further [oil can pass through port12 so thatfthe pressure builds up opening valve 68 and admitting the full pump delivery to the lefthand portion of condu'it40. This oil isdirected by valve-50 from port 44 to port 52 and conduit for shifting, the piston 62 to the right. Oil retuming' from the right-hand end ofcylinderl passes through conduit 68, ports and 46 of valve 50,,conduit 42,,port 38, passage I38, portjI I0, across "ports I12 and" H4 to port II6, through passage I42, port32 and conduits and 22 to the.tank. Since thisdischarge path is 0 substantially unrestrited,..the slide 66Itravels to the right at' aspeed determinedby the volumetric delivery rate ofthe' pump I0 which gives a comparativelyr'apid traverse movement. 3

Asgsoon as ,the. slide "reaches apojnt where;the. can! con ac ro l 1 hfim u erwlfll i shifted downwardly to fl ne;' feed -po s iti 0n 'illus'-" the hird -colun n of Figm'eiilug Under ons the ow frorrrgthe ,pumpito-the ipder, ifl is the, same 1 ,as2be-: flow, hfowever, Tbein'g blocked at port IIO so that fluid entering port 36 of the panel 30 must flow through passage I46, hydrostatic valve I44, passage I62, throttle I36, passage I34, throttle I36, passage I40, port II4 which is open to port H6, and from the latter through passage I42 to the tank port 32. Since the throttle I36 is much smaller than the throttle I36, the adjustment of the former determines the rate at which oil can pass from the motor. The excess quantity of oil delivered by the pump over that required to shift the slide 66 at the slow rate is bypassed to tank through the relief valve 20 and bypass conduit 22, it being understood that the relief valve 20 maintains a constant high pressure in the delivery conduit I6.

When the slide 66 has traveled further to the rightv so that cam I16 contacts roller I60, the

valve I62 is shifted to connect cylinder line I64.

with the pressure line I66 thus admitting pressure fluid to the operating cylinder I60 and shifting piston I62 to the right. This movement shifts the main plunger I02 downwardly into rapid return position illustrated in the fourth column of Figure 2. Under these conditions the pump delivery entering port I06 is directed to port H and through passage I30, port 36, and conduit 42 to the port 46 of valve 50. The latter remains in its righthand position to which it was shifted at the start of the rapid traverseforward stroke and accordingly directs the pressure fluid to port 64 and through conduit 56 to the righthand end of cylinder 60. The slide 66 accordingly moves to the left discharging oil through conduit 66, ports 52 and 44 of valve 50, conduit 40, passing freely through check valve 10 and into port 36 of the panel 60. Flow conditions through passage I26, ports I06 and I04, passage I24, port 32, and conduits 34 and 22 to the tank. Since this return path is unrestricted, the leftward travel takes place at a rapid rate.

When the slide reaches the central position illustrated in Figure 1 the hook cam I10 contacts the lower portion of roller I66 lifting the main plunger I02 to the stop position shown in the first column of Figure 2. The slide 66 is accordingly stopped and the pump delivery bypassed to tank as previously described.

To initiate a second cycle of operation the handle I66 is again operated to lift the plunger I02 to rapid traverse position. The pump delivery is directed through the panel to conduit as previously described, and the first flow passes out port I2 and through pipe I4 to port P of valve I6. Since the latter was shifted by contact of dog 94 with lever 62 as the slide 66 approached center position in its return movement, the pressure oil is directed to the port I and through conduit 62 to the operating chamber 66, thus shifting valve back to the position illustrated in Figure 1.

When the pressure in conduit 40 builds up to open valve 66, the pressure oil is directed from port 44 of valve 50 to port 64 and through conduit 56 to the righthand end of cylinder 60, thus causing the slide 66 to travel to the left instead of to the right as was described previously. The leftward cycle is similar to the rightward cycle previously described except that the slide movement takes place on the left side of central position. In addition, since the cam I'|2 is long enough to depress plunger I02 only to the coarse feed position, the feeding movement takes place at a more rapid rate. This is due to the fact that the oil returning from the motor and entering the motor port 36 of panel 30 is directed through passage I46, hydrostatic valve I44, throttle I36, passages I34 and I32 to port II2 which in this position of the plunger is open to ports H4 and H6, thus permitting the oil leaving the throttle I36 to discharge directly to tank without having to flow through throttle I36. Thus the throttle I36 alone determines the speed of movement during the coarse feed operation.

The construction of the panel 30 illustrated is similar to that disclosed in the copending application ofv Herman, Harrington and Twyman, Serial No. 155,652, filed July 26, 1937, entitled Hydraulic feed control panel, which issued February 24, 1942 as Patent No. 2,274,603. It will be understood that such panels are standard articles of commerce and are availablein the form disclosed as well as in other forms for the purpose of providing the customary rapid traverse, feed, and rapid return cycle of movements.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scone of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a hydraulic power transmission system the combination with means forming a source of pressure fluid, fluid motor means connected to the source for operation thereby, and control means for selectively varying the rate and direction of fluid delivery to the motor including a first control unit having a member shiftable between four positions to selectively deliver fluid to the motor at a rapid advance rate, deliver fluid to the motor at a feed advance rate, deliver fluid to the motor at a rapid return rate, or deliver fluid back to the source directly, a second control unit comprising a four-way reversing valve connected in series with the first control unit and having a member shiftable between only two positions to selectively deliver fluid to the motor in either direction, and means responsive to motor travel for selectively shifting said members in sequence to produce a cycle of motor travel including a forward and return stroke in one direction with respect to an intermediate position of the motor and alternately therewith a forward and return stroke in the opposite direction with respect to said intermediate position, said cycle including a feed movement during each of said forward strokes and a stop at the end ofeach return movement, said selective shifting means including a member pre-set during the return movement of the motor for conditionirng the second control unit to be shifted only when the first control unit has been shifted to its rapid advance position.

2. In a hydraulic power transmission system the combination with means forming a source of pressure fluid, fluid motor means connected to the source for operation thereby, and control means for selectively varying the rate and direction of fluid delivery to the motor including a. first control unit having a member shiftable between four positions to selectively deliver fluid to the motor at a rapid advance rate, deliver fluid to the motor at a feed advance rate, deliver fluid to the motor at a rapid return rate, or deliver fluid back to the source directly, a second control unit comprising a four-way reversing valve connected in serieswith the first control unit and having a member shiftable between only two positions to selectively deliver fluid to the motor in either direction, and means responsive to motor travel including adjustable dogs for the first control unit and independently adjustable dogs for the second control unit for selectively shifting said members in sequence to produce a cycle of motor travel including a forward and return stroke in one direction with respect to an intermediate position of the motor and alternately therewith a forward and return stroke in the opposite direction with respect to said intermediate position, said cycle including a feed movement during each of said forward strokes and a stop at the end of each return movement, said selective shifting means including a member pre-set during the return movement of the motor for conditioning the second control unit to be shifted only when the first control unit has been shifted to its rapid advance position.

3. In a hydraulic power transmission system the combination with means forming a source of pressure fluid, fluid motor means connected to the source for operation thereby, a. standard control panel connected between the motor and source and or the type having a control member normally shiftable between at least four positions providing rapid traverse forward, feed forward and rapid traverse reverse movement of the motor with a motor. stopping position intermediate the forward and reverse positions, a 

